Thread: Arapawa Ram

Blooded my new gun in weekend. Went for a hunt up in the hills and managed to get on to a good ram, 300wsm did the rest. Currently tanning the skin and getting ready to boil the skull. Any tips on a good way to mount a ram skull? and prepare it... Cheers

Well done pal, that is one big arsed ram

That a Tikka T3L? Had one once if it is, good shooter, loved 178 Amaxes, animals didnt!

Im not sure about sheeps skulls? do the horns slide off like goats? Any way the best way to get the skull nice and white is to
use perioxide, brushed on and left to dry after applying,keep on applying until as whiteas you want.
If you want really good advise I suggest to call Mark Walker at Big Game Taxidermy, really top bloke and more than happy to give advise. Bloody good taxidermist to boot!

RUNAS

yep it is, only tried 180 grain accubonds but am buying either 168 or 178 A-max next.
Cheers for the advance mate.

That's fantastic man, mean looking horns on him. I read online that most of the feral breeds that bare Arapawa Island's name are only found there, same goes for these guys I suspect?

Yeap same as goats etc, boil head slide off horns, clean the inside soft shit out, and don't do it in the house, ends up smelling not so nice................ water blast the skull while still hot.
Peroxide it with the highest % you can find, don't dry it in direct sunlight.

ok i have never done a goat or anything before. so should i boil the head with the horns on, then will they slide of easily? and then clean the inside and glue them back on??? never new the hons would come off...

I think all the Awaparas are gone off the island now
There is a bunch down sth

Perazzi, Im not sure on boiling the skull while horns are on? a mate did it with a goat and they are stuck on there for ever. I generally leave them for a few days (GOATS) and the horns slide off,do in a well ventilated area too! then boil the skull.
Who knows? he may have cooked the shit out of it, he assures me he didnt, but they are never coming off.
Just my 2c.

Other than that,you seem to have the idea, just dont rush it.

180 ABs would certainly be a good choice, I was shooting alot so hence the Amax, cheaper, when you could get them!!
I did a load up for a mate using 168 Nosler BTs when the Amaxes dried up, WOW!! if I still had one I would certainly considering using them.

RUNAS

Cheers mate, yip after talking to a taxidermist think the best bet is to leave it to rot for a week or two and then the horns should come off, then boil the skull, peroxide, and glue the horns back on... Seems simple enough, not looking forward to the smell tho...

Pleased you got advise mate ! A mate shot a wild sheep last year on public land I will see if I can up load a pic.
Its a merino I think, a bit of history with them too,they are only in one area, DOC know about them, heard is only around 150
and live in a remote rugged area in the North Island and only accessable by jet boat.
We had to wait for our ride to pick it up, other side of river of course.

RUNAS

This is them, interesting read. got my numbers wrong however,


Feral Sheep in New Zealand

A. Hawkes Bay

At present there are two distinct flocks of feral sheep - one in the north-eastern Ruahines and the other on the Mohaka River. The first of these, referred to as the Omahaki flock, occurs around the confluence of the Ngaruroro and Taruarau Rivers in the Eastern Ruahine State Forest and on Big Hill and Omahaki stations. It is spread over an area of approximately 7000 ha of scrubland, screes and bluffs. Population estimates vary widely but there appear to be several hundred animals. The origin of this flock is uncertain though they are known to have been living in a feral state for over 50 years. They would constitute the last part of the much larger feral flock that probably had its beginning in the merino sheep that were grazed on the open tops of the Ruahines last century. As recently as fifteen years ago feral sheep were known from six different Ruahine catchments (Cunningham 1962) but they have now been reduced to this one area in the northeast. Official shooting, aimed at reducing the browsing pressure on unstable country, reveals tallies which have dropped in the last decade from 300/annum to about 40/annum at present (A. N. Gilmore, in litt. 6.VI. 1975).

The Mohaka flock comprises several groups which may or may not be discrete. All are on or near the banks of the Mohaka river between the Te Hoe and Waipunga Rivers, behind Tutira. All in all there appear to be less than 1000 sheep spread over an area greater than 30 000 ha. Numbers in this area are apparently diminishing but the reason is not official control so much as habitat destruction - the land is being developed for farming. In one area where only six years ago it was possible to see mobs of 10-12, feral sheep are now 'rare' (A. N. Gilmore, in litt. 6.VI.1975). The origins of the Mohaka flocks are also unknown but their age is probably similar to that of the Omahaki flock. It is interesting to note they exist in roughly the same area from which Guthrie-Smith (1953) described feral merinos in the l880s. Certainly in this area the change from merinos to longwools was virtually complete by 1900 so this presumably provides an indication of age.

Thats just awesome!!! Something id like to shoot one day myself

if your mates couldnt pop off then he didnt cook them long enoughNo taxdermist will let them rot for a while first. might be a bit late for yours now. .

I probably wouldn't wing it with a fine looking sheep like yours but I've had a goat's head outside for a week or so now and I'm going to go get it in a week and boil the rest of the nasty off it. I'll chuck an update on here when I do so.